


Show Me I Can

by theHunter_and_theNinja



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Injury, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21716344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theHunter_and_theNinja/pseuds/theHunter_and_theNinja
Summary: Connie is injured on a run and Daryl tells her a bit about his past.
Relationships: Connie/Daryl Dixon
Comments: 3
Kudos: 73





	Show Me I Can

**Author's Note:**

> As of right now this is a one-shot, but I’m not sure if it’ll stay that way or if I’ll explore this story further.
> 
> What do y’all think?

Connie’s vision blurred as she stumbled towards Hilltop’s main gate. Her whole body felt like it was moving through cement. The stab wound in her side was still bleeding badly despite her efforts to stop it. She’d gotten off easier than her run partner, Robin, who’d taken a bullet to the chest and died. Her foot caught on a stray rock and she fell hard onto her hands and knees. She yelled out in pain as the fall stretched her side forcing more blood out of the wound.

She lifted her head and blearily looked up where the guards were supposed to be positioned, but all she could make out were a few shadowy figures moving around. She waved her hand weakly in the air, but was too exhausted to keep it up for long. She prayed that someone had seen her as her vision started to go dark. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she saw the gate open and someone run out just as she fell unconscious.

* * *

Daryl was leaning against the walls of Hilltop petting Dog as the sun was just setting, looking out over the landscaping hoping to see Connie. She and Robin were due back hours ago, but they hadn’t showed. Maggie asked him to wait until morning before going out to look for them and he’d grudgingly agreed. He knew it was possible they were just delayed and it dangerous to go out at night to look for someone not knowing what happened to them anyway, but it was Connie. They’d just barely started whatever it was between them and he wasn’t ready to lose it.

He wasn’t entirely sure what exactly was going on between them. They’d kissed more than once and almost slept together after drinking too much at a party thrown by the Kingdom, but they’d fallen asleep before anything happened. He wasn’t sure if it was serious or not. He knew that he wanted to make that commitment, but he was too afraid of scaring her off if that’s not what she wanted. For all he knew she just wants to mess around and have fun with no strings attached.

Movement out of the corner of his eye as he saw what he thought was a walker fall, which was relatively weird for that area. When he looked closer however, to his horror, he realized it was Connie and she was badly injured. The entire right side of her torso and pants were covered in blood and she had a shirt tied around her waist.

“Open the gate!” he yelled taking off, “Connie’s back, but she’s hurt.”

The guards jumped into action, pulling the gate open so that Daryl and Dog could get out. He just about flew down the ladder and sprinted through the open gate, Dog hot on his heels. People saw him running and starting looking to see where he was going as he went through the small outer gate. He heard somebody behind him shout “go get Siddiq” and he was thankful that someone was going for the doctor.

As he got closer, he noticed two walkers coming up behind her. Due to the distance between them, Daryl knew the walkers were going to get to her before him.

“Dog, go!” he shouted, doing his best to pick up his pace.

Dog barked and charged ahead, outpacing him and the walkers. Daryl watched as Dog grabbed the leg of the first one, ripping the lower half of it off at the knee causing the walker to fall to the ground. He jumped on the back of the second walker, bringing it down to his height so that he could dig his nails into its head, killing it. The first one was now slowly crawling towards Connie, but now Daryl was close enough to stop it. He paused in his running and drew one of his knives, throwing it at the walker’s head. The knife hit the walker in the head, stopping its advance.

Dog barked and ran over to Connie and started sniffing her, whining. Daryl dropped to his knees beside her, reaching out to feel for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt it, weak but there. He noticed that the shirt binding her wound had loosened and wasn’t doing anything to help her. He refastened it to help stop the bleeding before standing. He leaned down and picked her up, careful to avoid pulling at her wound.

Daryl took off as fast as he could for Hilltop. He saw Siddiq making his way out to them, his medical bag swinging wilding at his side as he ran. Daryl kept going until Siddiq was at his side, asking him to stop so he could see the wound.

“It’s really bad,” Siddiq relayed, “Put her down here, I have to sew it up now. The jostling is only making her bleed more.”

Daryl nodded frantically, going down onto one knee to lay her on the ground. He knelt down with her head on his lap, Dog licking her hand where it laid on the grass.

“Do what you can,” he urged Siddiq.

Daryl sat there in what felt like a trance, watching Siddiq work on her. Dog was whining beside him and shoving his nose against her neck. Magna and Yumiko were standing only a few feet away making sure no walkers interrupted them.

Daryl saw the gash in her side and knew it was from a knife. He wanted to rip whoever did it apart with his bare hands. He brushed his fingers across her cheek, caressing it. Her face was so much paler than normal and her skin was clammy. He hoped that they weren’t too late.

“We need to do a transfusion,” Siddiq said finishing closing up the wound, “I’ve got the stuff to do it here, but her file is back in my trailer and I don’t know her blood type.”

Daryl bit his lip, he wasn’t sure she’d make it that far. Her pulse was so weak against his fingertips now, it was barely there. Just as Siddiq started to stand up, Daryl remembered something Dennise had told him a long time ago about blood types.

“Wait! It doesn’t matter what her blood type is,” Daryl blurted out, “Dennise told me that I’m O- and can give blood to anyone.”

Siddiq stared at him for a moment, “You willing to do it?”

“Yes,” he snapped, “Now hurry up.”

Siddiq dropped back to the ground and started prepping the transfusion. Daryl could feel anxiety rising through him as he watched Siddiq work. He’s not the biggest fan of needles but, if it could save Connie, he’d do anything.

Daryl flinched slightly when Siddiq pressed the needle into the vein on his inner arm. He swallowed harshly as he watched his blood flow out of his body and into Connie’s. With his free hand, he brushed her hair back from her face, running his thumb over her forehead as he prayed that she would be alright.

* * *

Siddiq kept the transfusion going until he was happy enough with how Connie was doing to stop and move her into the medical trailer. It had felt like an eternity of sitting, waiting, and praying. Daryl stood up slowly, feeling his head spin slightly from how much blood he’d just given.

He felt Yumiko place a strong hand on his shoulder to stabilize him while Magna and Siddiq worked together to get Connie inside. Daryl wanted to help, but giving blood in such a stressful situation had taken a lot out of him. He refused, however, to let Yumiko take him back to his room, insisting on staying with Connie until she woke up.

“Just get me some juice from the kitchens and I’ll be fine,” he insisted, walking closely behind Siddiq and Magna.

Yumiko sighed in defeat, agreeing to bring him something to drink to combat the blood he’d given. He sat down in the chair next to her bed heavily, not wanting to be too far from her. He would never forgive himself if she died without him telling her exactly how he feels about her. He wished now that he’d told her during one of their impromptu makeout sessions that seemed to happen without warning.

Their first kiss had taken place on his birthday almost six months ago. He’d tried to avoid celebrating it, just like he did every year, but Michonne had ratted him out to pretty much everyone. All the birthday wishes he’d gotten were starting wearing on him, so he’d retreated into his room. He’d received a knock on his door later that night and opened it to reveal Connie.

 _“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”_ she’d asked, walking in so that he could close the door.

“I don’t celebrate it, so what’s the point?” he countered, despite how happy he’d been to see her.

 _“Well, I have a present for you anyway,”_ she stated firmly.

He’d been confused by how fast she’d managed to come up with something until she went up on her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth. He’d been shocked, but nodded when asked if what she’d done was okay. With his permission, she’d kissed him for real, their lips meeting in a beautiful symphony of mutual passion and care.

Daryl took Connie’s hand as he remembered their first kiss all those months ago, followed by the many other ones she’d surprised him with whenever they were alone. He remembered the first time he’d taken her hunting. She’d kept giving him chaste kisses during the hunt, but he’d wanted more. Eventually growing tired of her game, he pushed her against a tree and kissed her the way he wanted to kiss her, deeply and full of a love he was too scared to admit he felt verbally.

The door to the medical trailer burst open, disrupting his musings, to reveal Kelly panting harshly. She’d been off on a trading trip to the Kingdom and must’ve just gotten back.

“How is she?” she asked in between her gasps for air.

Siddiq ran in the door behind her. He’d just come back from analyzing all the tests he’d done on her.

“She’s going to be okay,” he reassured her, “I’ve sewn up her wound and gave her a transfusion using Daryl’s blood.”

Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief at Siddiq’s reassuring comment that Connie was going to be okay. Daryl could feel his body relaxing as he processed the fact that Connie was okay, that she was safe. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, smiling when he felt her fingers twitch in his grasp. He knew it was just a subconscious impulse, but he was happy to see the sign of life.

“Thank you for helping my sister,” Kelly said walking over to give him a hug.

Yumiko returned with a glass of juice and small bag full of nuts and gave them to Daryl who immediately downed half the glass.

“What are the nuts for?” he asked, staring at the bag in his lap.

“They’re also good for helping you recover from giving blood,” Yumiko explained, “You should rest too.”

Daryl sighed knowing she was right. His body felt like lead and his vision was starting to swim.

“Fine,” he relented, “but I’ll rest in one of the beds over there. I’m not going any farther away than that.”

Daryl gave Connie’s hand a squeeze before releasing it and letting Yumiko help him up, taking him over to the bed next to Connie’s. Yumiko could tell that Daryl cared deeply about her friend and thought it was adorable that even though he knew she was okay, he still didn’t want to leave her side.

Daryl fell heavily onto the small bed and jumped when he felt Yumiko start to pull his boots off. He was fine with keeping them on, but he assumed Siddiq wouldn’t be too happy with him leaving mud on the bed sheets. Once his boots were off, he laid down and pulled the covers over his body. He positioned himself so that he was facing Connie and let himself drift off to sleep.

* * *

Connie blinked her eyes open and blearily looked around her, trying to figure out where she was. She knew she wasn’t in her own bed and it took her a minute to remember what had happened. She realized then that she was probably in Hilltops’s infermary. She looked over to her right and was shocked to see Daryl sleeping next to her in one of the other beds. She was happy to see him, but she wondered why he was over there.

The door to the bathroom at the back of the trailer opened and Kelly stepped out. Her eyes lit up when she was that Connie was awake. She ran over to her sister and pulled her into a gentle hug, making sure not to stretch or press on her wound.

 _“How are you feeling?”_ Kelly asked sitting down in the chair next to the bed.

 _“Tired,”_ Connie admitted.

_“No pain?”_

_“Not much.”_

Kelly was relieved to hear that, _“I’m going to go get Siddiq.”_

Connie nodded her understanding, but she wanted to ask her sister a question first.

 _“Why is Daryl in a hospital bed?”_ she asked, motioning to the sleeping man.

 _“You’d lost so much blood by the time Daryl got to you, Siddiq was worried you wouldn’t make it all the way back to Hilltop without a blood transfusion. Daryl’s blood type allows him to give blood to anyone, so he let Siddiq give you a transfusion of his blood before even bringing you in,”_ Kelly explained, _“He gave again just a few hours ago when your vitals dropped.”_

Connie’s heart thrummed with affection as she listened to Kelley explain what he’d done for her while she was out.

 _“We tried to get him to go back to his room to rest, but he refused to leave your side,”_ Kelly continued, _“He’s been with you since he went sprinting out the gates to get you.”_

_“He’s the one I saw running out to get me before I passed out?”_

Kelly nodded, _“He’s been really worried about you despite Siddiq telling him you’ll be alright._ ”

That sounded like Daryl. Kelly hugged her sister again before leaving to fetch Siddiq.

Connie could feel the butterflies in her stomach heighten as she looked over at the man who’d saved her life. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to be with him, but his mixed signals kept putting her off on making their relationship status official. He’d kiss her with all the passion of a boyfriend, but then pretend like nothing had happened whenever other people were around.

She’d thought the first time they kissed would signal the beginning of a relationship, but he’d barely been able to look her in the eye after. He’d avoided her for two days before they’d ended up on guard duty together and kissed again. It was a cycle of him showing beyond obvious signs of wanting to be with her and then retreating from her. It was like he was trying, and failing, to reject her before she could reject him.

It was only when they were alone that he let himself be more vulnerable and intimate with her. But once anyone else showed up he backed off and pretended like it never happened until the next time they were alone. It was almost like he didn’t want people to know what was going on between them. The thought saddened her as she wondered why he wouldn’t want to be seen with her romantically.

Daryl shifted in his bed, his eyes opening and landing on Connie. His eyes blew wide when he noticed that she was very much awake and looking at him. He sat up abruptly causing his head to spin a bit. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply until the feeling dissipated and he could think straight.

 _“You’re awake!”_ he signed, relief flooding his chest.

 _“Thanks to you,”_ she smiled over at him, giggling at his reaction.

Daryl blushed, but shook his head, _“Siddiq did all the work.”_

 _“But it’s your blood running through my veins,”_ she argued.

He shrugged, _“Doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you’re okay.”_

Connie guestired for him to come join her over on her bed, wanting him closer. Daryl stood up cautiously before coming over to sit on the side of her bed. She ran her hand up his arm to his face as he leaned into her. Placing her hand behind his head, she pulled him down for a kiss. It was her way of saying thank you while also selfishly being able to touch him again just because she wanted to.

He kissed her back with enthusiasm and passion, making her forget all about the horrible events of the last 48 hours. One of his hands was supporting him next to her head and the other was gently caressing the side of her waist that didn’t have stitches in it. She’s just ran her tongue over his bottom lip asking for permission to enter when they hears footsteps behind the door and he abruptly broke the kiss and sat up. Connie frowned again at his unwillingness to be caught kissing her again, but pushed it aside when Siddiq entered the room holding a jug of some type of juice.

“How are you feeling?” he asked her coming over to look at her.

 _“Good, very little pain,”_ she assured him.

Siddiq nodded, “That’s good to hear. What happened out there?”

 _“We got attacked by a group of three survivors. They killed Robin. I killed two of them in self defense and the third one ran away,”_ she revealed, feeling her heart pang with grief as she remembered Robin.

“Is there a chance we could go get Robin’s body?”

 _“Maybe,”_ Connie hung her head sadly, _“I ended the process before running off, but the gunfire likely drew walkers to our location. I’m not sure how much of her is left. I wasn’t able to move her.”_

She felt Daryl place a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. She wished he’d pull her into his arms and kiss her head, but she knew he’d never do that while others were around.

Siddiq changed her bandage and checked her vitals before leaving again, giving her instructions to rest and drink plenty of juice to help her body recover. Daryl poured her a glass and set it down on the table beside her bed.

 _“Why do you do that?”_ she asked, finally tiring of his aversion to people seeing them together.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, _“Do what?”_

 _“Push me away the second someone come in?”_ she clarified, _“Do you not want people to see us together?”_

It was obvious that her question had caught him off guard. His face morphed into one of shock mixed with guilt.

 _“I didn’t think you’d want people to know about us,”_ he admitted, swallowing thickly, _“You never said I was allowed to touch you in public.”_

It was then that she realized something about Daryl. She knew he’d been abused as a child, but she hadn’t realized that his lack of being allowed to be affectionate with people he cared about as a child could follow him into adulthood. He’d been waiting on her to tell him what he was allowed to do while she was waiting for him to show her what he wanted.

She thought back to after their first kiss. He’d avoided her after, but he’d been the one to initiate the kiss between them on guard duty two days later. It was like he’d accepted that he was allowed to be with her in that way after she initiated their first kiss. He’d been waiting this whole time for her to continue the affection between them in public before he did. He was waiting for her permission to make their budding relationship public.

 _“Of course you can kiss me in front of people,”_ she said reaching out to caress his cheek.

 _“I just wanted to be sure. Last time I tried to kiss a girl in public she slapped me and then told me she was ashamed to be seen with me in public,”_ he revealed taking her hand, _“I’d had my first kiss with her the day before so I was confused. Found out later that she’d only kissed me because her friends dared her to.”_

Connie’s heart broke for him. She knew him well enough to know how deeply he felt everything. Someone doing that to him had to have severely hurt him, especially for his first kiss ever.

 _“In high school, I had my only girlfriend ever. We ended up sleeping together a couple weeks into our relationship and then she dumped me the next morning,”_ he continued, _“It hadn’t exactly been a secret that I hadn’t been with anyone before thanks to my loudmouth brother. Apparently she’d only done it to win some kind of competition to see who could get me into bed first, take my virginity. I haven’t been with anyone since.”_

Tears formed in the corners of Connie’s eyes as she listened to Daryl tell her about his past relationships. She couldn’t believe how cruel those girls had been to him. Treating his emotions and life like a game instead of real things.

 _“I just assumed I wasn’t someone anyone saw themselves loving in that way and I had no interest in one night stands, so you’re actually the first person I’ve kissed since that night,”_ he signed, unable to look her in the eye.

Connie went to sit up, having momentarily forgotten about her injury, and gasped in pain when the movement pulled on her stitches. Daryl’s hands went to her shoulders, easing her back down onto the bed. Connie sighed in frustration, if she couldn’t go to him, he’d have to come to her.

 _“Come here,”_ she said opening her arms wide for a hug.

Daryl happily accepted her invitation and leaned into her embrace, wrapping one of his arms around her waist while the other supported him on the bed. He buried his face into the side of her neck, seemingly breathing her in. She gently rested her head against his, kissing his head the way she had wanted him to do for her earlier.

He pulled back from the hug just enough that he could kiss her. It was soft and gentle, yet filled with passion and love. He deepened the kiss more and more as it went on and Connie was certain she was moaning into his mouth. She could feel herself becoming aroused by their actions, but knew with her injury that it couldn’t go any further than this right now. Reluctantly, she pulled away from the kiss, but kept him in her arms.

 _“Never be afraid to touch me whenever you want to,”_ she whispered, placing a chaste kiss on his lips, _“I want the whole world to know you’re mine.”_


End file.
